Carties 2005

In the weeks and months running up to the 2005 Catterline Gala, the sounds of hammering, sawing, grinding and welding could be heard all around the village. There was feverish and furtive activity in garden sheds and garages, and strange contraptions would occasionally be seen travelling down the brae at high speed, only to disappear just as quickly to keep them away from prying eyes.

And the reason for all this industry and secrecy? The inaugural Catterline Cartie Challenge! The mystery finally became clear at the Catterline Gala on Saturday 11th June, when 11 home made carties were displayed and paraded in front of the public. The crowds at the Gala were stunned by the ingenuity and skill shown by the constructors of the fantastic machines - with designs including hi-tech trikes, weasels, ironing boards and even a WW1 Triplane (complete with machine gun sound effects!). Votes taken on the day resulted in the "Best Engineered" prize being awarded to Stephen Hall for "The Greased Weasel", and David Evans received a very well deserved "Best Decorated" trophy for his fabulous "Red Baron".

Nine of the carties competed the next day for the honour and the glory of being crowned the first ever Catterline Cartie Challenge Supreme Champion by seeing who could go down the Catterline Brae from The Creel Inn to the harbour in the shortest time. The competition was fiercely fought and very close, and there were some extremely quick runs and a few spectacular crashes. In the end, Byron McKibben’s "Elijah", driven by Douglas Mowat, just beat Team Scozzie’s "Creel Runnings" and Maurice Coull’s "Tequila Slammer" into second and third place.

A big thank you to everyone that contributed in any way to the first ever Catterline Cartie Challenge. It was an absolutely fabulous day, and you can rest assured we’ll be doing it again next year!

Catterline Cartie Challenge Results

Supreme Champion

Best Engineered

Best Decorated